First of all, welcome to the land of Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month. If you’re not familiar with the term or the event, edumacate yourself HERE, because the folks there are amazing and I hope to someday eat pie with them. If that site is tl:dr, then the long of short of it is that in November, a whole bunch of people decide to write 50,000 words all in 30 days of madness. It may be crazy but, as Martha says, “it’s a good thing.”

Next, I am a seven year Nanowrimo winner, and soon I hope to be an eight-year alum. And I am here to tell you why you should do Nanowrimo this year.

#10 Nano teaches you things.

This is the most obvious. Nanowrimo requires dedication, perserverence, endurance, a smidgen of talent, and most of all, pure unadulterated creativity. It’s difficult, and you’ll come out with a possible caffinne addiction and maaaaybe slightly glowing from the lack of showers, but it’s worth it!

Mm, slimy yet satisfying.

#9 It’s social!

The very first Nanowrimo was a bunch of friends getting together a few nights a week to write in authorial camaraderie. Writing is generally a very lonely addic-I mean, habit. You put on your headphones and who wants to hear about your characters latest exploits? If you’re lucky, your significant other. Nanowrimo kind of throws that out the window. You need a support group for this kind of crazy, and through forums and Municipal Liasons, Nanowrimo provides one.

#8 It will stretch your creative muscles.

You could put this into #10 if you really wanted to, but I think this is a different idea. You see, to put down so many words and concepts in so short a time requires a level of creativity that’s kind of hyperactive. Loopholes are exploited, plot holes flagrantly made and ignored because “that’s what editing is for”. You really start to reach to the edge of your possibilities, because 50,000 words can be a bit longer than you think.

Yeah…this is about right.

#7 It increases adaptability.

Before I learned to Nano, writing was a single thing, which came with the muses and didn’t stay if there was anyone else in the room with me, or the music wasn’t just right, or so on and so forth. After seven years of Nano, I can honestly say that if I must, I can nano in a crowded bar with yodeling in the background. (Can you Nano in a box? Can you Nano with a Fox?)

#6 It establishes a routine.

My favorite part of Nano time is that I get into a really great groove. I go to work. I finish work. I go to my place of nanoing glory, I sit, I open my computer, I pound out my words, I close my computer, I go home. Rinse, repeat. This might sound boring, but it also trains you to write. Every day. No exceptions. Because you get to be aware that if you don’t write every day you will fall behind, and catching up is hellish.